This invention relates to safety arrangements for vehicle occupants using side airbags.
German Offenlegungsschrift No. 39 13 034 describes an airbag arranged below the sill of a side window in the door trim of an automobile, British Patent No. 1 381 999 discloses an airbag mounted above the lintel of a door window in the region of a side roof member, and German Offenlegungsschrift No. 15 55 142 discloses airbags both at the sill and at the lintel of a side window. The use of airbags to protect vehicle occupants in lateral collisions of a vehicle is especially important because there is not enough available space laterally of the occupants to provide an adequate deformation travel in contradistinction to the front and rear portions of the vehicle. Prior to its release, an airbag occupies very little space but, once it has been released because of an accident, it can assume its final shape without interfering with riding comfort.